Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother’s Will to Survive

Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother’s Will to Survive

• Genre: Nonfiction; memoir; social commentary
• Originally Published: 2019
• Reading Level/Interest: College/Adult
• Structure/Length: 3 parts; 27 chapters; approximate 270 pages; approximately 8 hours, 34 minutes on audio
• Central Concern: In Maid, Stephanie Land offers an intimate and unflinching account of her years as a house cleaner in the Pacific Northwest. Navigating the complexities of poverty, houselessness, and bureaucracy, she paints a vivid portrait of the working poor in America. The narrative also delves into the challenges faced by single mothers in a system that often seems designed to keep them from succeeding.
• Potential Sensitivity Issues: Discussions of poverty, intimate partner abuse/domestic violence, houselessness, and societal inequalities; sexual content (references to pornography); profanity

Stephanie Land, Author

• Bio: Freelance writer whose work has been featured in The Guardian, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and other publications; advocates for national economic justice; experiences as a maid gave her unique insights into the lives of the working poor; focused on personal narratives that provide voice to those often silenced or stereotyped

CENTRAL THEMES connected and noted throughout this Teaching Guide:

• The Psychological Costs of Poverty
• The Linked Traumas of Poverty and Abuse
• The Search for Home
• Motherhood in Poverty

STUDY OBJECTIVES: In accomplishing the components of this Teaching Guide, students will:

• Gain an understanding of the social and cultural contexts regarding poverty in America, including an understanding of specific government aid programs such as the Section 8 housing program, which inform Land’s experiences throughout Maid.
• Study paired texts and other brief resources to make connections via the text’s themes surrounding The Psychological Costs of Poverty, The Linked Traumas of Poverty and Abuse, Motherhood in Poverty, and The Search for Home.
• Embark on a “privilege walk” to reveal the privilege or lack of privilege experienced by Land and other key figures in the memoir.
• Analyze and evaluate the author’s purpose and techniques to draw conclusions in structured essay responses regarding stereotypes of the working poor, the unique plight of unhoused and impoverished women, and other topics.